Palace of Westminster: free audio guide
The story of Palace of Westminster in London, as the Votura app tells it on location. Read it here, or hear it on the spot with turn-by-turn walking directions.
Before you go
- Address
- St. Margaret St, London, Greater London, SW1A 0AA
- Opening hours
- Mon–Fri: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
The story
Palace of Westminster, known in English as the Houses of Parliament, stands on the north bank of the River Thames in London and serves as the meeting place of the UK Parliament. The site carries extraordinary political continuity: a royal palace exists here by at least 1097, when King William II begins the great Westminster Hall. That hall, still the oldest surviving part of the complex, is one of the largest medieval timber-roofed halls in Europe, and its hammerbeam roof from 1395 remains a masterpiece associated with carpenter Hugh Herland under King Richard II. Today the building contains the House of Commons and the House of Lords, making it the working heart of British government rather than a museum.
The palace’s story changes dramatically in 1512, when a fire damages the medieval royal residence and Henry VIII abandons it as a royal home in favor of nearby Whitehall. From that point the complex evolves into a parliamentary seat, and its most famous ceremonial spaces take shape around the old medieval core. The Palace of Westminster also becomes a place of constitutional drama: in 1605, Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators are discovered in the failed Gunpowder Plot, and the annual State Opening of Parliament still remembers that danger with the Yeoman of the Guard’s ceremonial search. In 1707, the Acts of Union unite England and Scotland, and Westminster becomes the parliament of a wider kingdom.
A devastating fire in 1834 destroys most of the old palace, leaving only a few major survivors such as Westminster Hall, the Jewel Tower, the Cloisters, and St Stephen’s Crypt. The rebuilding that follows is one of Britain’s great Victorian projects, led by architect Charles Barry with decisive interior and decorative work by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. Barry’s plan, chosen in 1836 after a competition, gives the complex its grand riverside façade and its carefully ordered Gothic Revival layout. Construction continues for decades, and the new palace develops into the immense riverside landmark seen today, with more than 1,100 rooms, around 100 staircases, and over 3 miles of corridors.
Its most recognizable vertical marker is the clock tower completed in 1859, commonly called Big Ben after the great bell inside, though the tower itself is now officially the Elizabeth Tower. The bell weighs about 13.5 tons, and the clock became famous for its accuracy and for the striking rhythm that marks London’s civic life. Nearby, the Victoria Tower rises at the southern end of the complex and serves as the main archive tower for Parliament’s records. The building is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1987 together with Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church, recognizing its exceptional role in the development of constitutional government.
A visit here also means standing at a place where national history keeps happening. Suffragette Millicent Fawcett’s campaign is remembered on the estate, and the statue of her, unveiled in 2018, honors the long struggle for women’s voting rights. The building is still heavily used for state occasions, major debates, and television coverage, while the great Victoria Tower Gardens and the Thames embankment give visitors a clear view of its neo-Gothic pinnacles, carved stonework, and gilded details. For tourists in London, the Palace of Westminster is not just a famous façade; it is the living stage of British law, ceremony, and political argument, layered across nearly a thousand years.
Written for the Votura audio tour and read aloud in the app. Opening hours change, so check with the venue before you go.
Self-guided tours that stop at Palace of Westminster
- London Icons Walk: Westminster to the City
- London Icons: Westminster to the City Walking Highlights
- London Icons Walk: Westminster to the City
- London Icons Walk: Westminster to the City
- London’s Essential Icons: Westminster to the City Walking Tour
- London Icons Walk: Westminster to the City
Hear it on the spot
Votura plays this guide when you reach Palace of Westminster, then walks you to the next stop. Works offline.